On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine: North Carolina trending for Joshua Horton

Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes three-star defensive lineman Joshua Horton recently shared that he will be announcing his commitment on Aug. 19. Horton is choosing between Auburn, North Carolina and UCF.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Tar Heels are heavily trending for his commitment at 80.7% following expert predictions from On3’s Jeffrey Lee, Cole Pinkston and Chad Simmons. The Tigers have the next-best odds at 16.8%, while the Knights’ chance is at 1%.

Horton is the No. 945 overall prospect and No. 102 defensive lineman in the 2023 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 95 player in Georgia.

On3 rates the 6-foot-3.5, 275 pound prospect even higher. While he isn’t in the 2023 On300, Horton is ranked as the No. 70 defensive lineman and No. 57 player in Georgia.

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Recruiting impact if Horton commits to North Carolina

North Carolina’s 2023 recruiting class includes 14 commitments and consists of five four-stars and nine three-stars. The Tar Heels’ group is currently No. 23 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings and No. 5 in the ACC.

If Horton commits to North Carolina, he would be the second defensive lineman in the Tar Heels’ class alongside Richmond (Va.) Benedictine four-star defensive lineman Joel Starlings. North Carolina also has defensive pledges from Durham (N.C.) Southern four-star EDGE Jaybron Harvey, Hickory (N.C.) four-star EDGE Rico Walker and Edmond (Okla.) Deer Creek three-star cornerback Dale Miller among others.

The Tar Heels currently have three commitments from Horton’s home state of Georgia. They are Mableton (Ga.) Whitefield Academy three-star linebacker Caleb LaVallee, Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek three-star cornerback Kaleb Cost and Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb three-star interior offensive lineman Robert Grigsby.

Horton has an On3 NIL Valuation of $5.9K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.